In 1938 during a soft spring rain I was born to Mary and Victor Kryston in Brooklyn, New York. I have never forgiven the Dodgers for leaving, even though I left shortly after my birth to the promised land of New Jersey (The light at the end of the Lincoln tunnel).
I giggled my way through a three year stint with army (US) intelligence (source of giggles). After, I gave Fairfax County, Virginia, high school students thirty years to kill me. They did not, but not wanting to push my luck, I retired. Since 1991 I have worked as an Adjunct Instructor at Northern Virginia Community College. I feel blessed.
I feel further blessed by my wife, Sheila, with whom I bought a house in Lovettsville, Virginia shortly after marrying her in 1969. We have never moved, and have great respect for inertia. While there we raised two boys, Sean and Jason who are off living their own lives and who can write their own damn bios!
I love teaching in part because it keeps me writing which I also love. Two groups that have given me wonderful comfort and nourishment this second half of life: Northern Virginia Writing project, a caring group dedicated to helping teachers help teachers, and The Religious Society of Friends, a caring group dedicated to helping people help people. Both groups have added immeasurably to my sense of worth as a teacher and as a people.